Sample questions for CS 1011 Midterm 2 (Spring 2001).
NOTE: the actual midterm will have 20 three point multiple choice questions
and eight 7-8 point short answer questions. The questions below are samples
of questions you might see on the midterm.
MULTIPLE CHOICE (3 points each) - circle the LETTER of the single BEST answer:
1. Formatting a disk is done to __________.
(a) Erase all of the existing data on the disk
(b) To change a disk from read-only to read/write
(c) To divide the disk into tracks and sectors
(d) To determine how much can be stored on the disk
(e) To prepare the disk for use in the computer and to transfer system
files to the disk
2. A RAID or Redundant Array of Independent Disks may store data using a
__________ design.
(a) Mirroring
(b) Duplicating
(c) Backup
(d) Copied
(e) None of these
3. An operating system that is able to run multiple applications at one time
is referred to as a __________ system.
(a) Single user
(b) Multitasking
(c) Multiuser
(d) Multiprocessing
(e) Fault-tolerant
4. Which of the following is NOT referred to as an operating system?
(a) Windows NT
(b) Linux
(c) MS DOS
(d) Netscape
(e) Unix
5. Which of the following is NOT a type of data model used in databases?
(a) File
(b) Relational
(c) Network
(d) Hierarchical
(e) All of these are data models
6. The operation that extracts columns from a relation in relational algebra
is a __________.
(a) Project
(b) Select
(c) Join
(d) Cross Product
(e) None of these
7. Which of the following approaches to system conversion involves running the
old system alongside the new system for some fixed period of time?
(a) Direct
(b) Parallel
(c) Phased
(d) Pilot
(e) None of these
8. Which of the following would NOT be used in a structured analysis of a
systems task?
(a) Entity-Relationship diagram
(b) Network Flow diagram
(c) Structured English
(d) Data Dictionary
(e) Data Flow diagram
9. Which of the following is NOT a type of physical transmission media?
(a) Twisted-pair cable
(b) Fiber optic cable
(c) Coaxial cable
(d) Microwave cable
(e) All of these are physical transmission media
10. The internet is __________.
(a) A network project originally founded by the Pentagon
(b) A large wide-area network
(c) The host of the world wide web
(d) A mechanism that provides services such as email, www, e-commerce, etc.
(e) All of these
11. Which of the following internet domain abbreviations refers to non-profit
organizations?
(a) .com
(b) .gov
(c) .net
(d) .org
(e) .free
SHORT ANSWER (8 points each) - briefly answer the following:
12. What is the difference between a CD-ROM and recordable CD (CD-R) and a
rewriteable CD (CD-RW)? How does information get written to a CD-R and
CD-RW disks?
13. What is Windows CE? What is it used for?
14. What are some of the services provided by an operating system?
15. What is a key field of a relation? How is it useful in a join operation?
16. What is a data dictionary and what role does it play in a detailed system
analysis?
17. Give an example of a path a request for a piece of information might take
in traveling from your computer to a distant computer (perhaps a computer
in Germany). Indicate the different types of communications lines the
request might follow and what the characteristics of such lines might be.
18. What does the term modem refer to? What does a modem do when sending a
signal from your computer?
19. What is a cookie (with respect to the internet)? How does one get on your
computer?